A Mt. Olive woman has been selected to be a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan.

Lisa Murray, 23, applied to be a volunteer with the Peace Corps two years ago and was recently told she had been selected to work as a youth development facilitator in the European nation for 27 months.

“I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing, yet,” she said. “It’s a new program… I’ll probably be doing a little of everything.” She said she will probably be trained to teach English, a job that’s in high demand.

She may also work with non-novernment organizations and other groups to help establish youth-oriented programs. She said she will probably work with people ages 15 to 23.

“They give you a job, but they don’t look over your shoulder,” she said. “we have the freedom to do additional projects if we want.”

Murray said she doesn’t know what part of the country she’ll be working in, yet.

“The biggest thing that’s stressing me out is what to pack,” she said. “There are different climates, and I don’t know how I’ll need to dress, yet.”

Before traveling to Kazakhstan, Murray will go to Washington, D.C. on August 18 to start three months of language and cultural training. She’s trying to do some of her own research on Kazakhstan.              

Murray’s current career aspiration is to work with children in conflict zones. She majored in history and international studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“This is a good stepping stone… schooling is good, but it’s nowhere near as good as experience,” she said. “This kind of total immersion is the best experience.”

Murray first decided on her career path in late junior high or early high school, when she first learned about the country of Rwanda.

“It just snowballed from there,” she said. “My career choice is kind of a work in progress, though. It’s still flexible.”

Murray also went on a mission trip to Ecuador in 2006, and she said it further cemented her interest in foreign volunteer work. Her trip to Kazakhstan will be the longest she has ever been out of the United States.

“I think communication is going to be the biggest challenge,” she said. “Phones and email and mail aren’t as readily available.” She said a letter could take up to three months to be delivered, and she would probably have to travel to a nearby city for internet access.

She said she thinks a lot of people aren’t fully aware of what the Peace Corps does, and that she has learned most of what she knows in the last month.

“I don’t think that anybody can say they’re prepared,” she said. “It’s best not to have too many expectations… I want to just go and experience it.”

Murray is chronicling her Peace Corps experiences on her website, lisainkazakhstan.blogspot.com.